January 7, 2021
Luo Shu sat in Site-19's public reading area, skimming the Washington Post.
The headline blared:
"Defeated President Incites Mob to Storm Capitol!"
Four dead. Chaos unfolding.
Luo Shu smirked.
The Freemasons' carefully crafted system—finally cracking.
Then, the alarms blared.
"WARNING! CONTAINMENT BREACH! SCP-049 HAS ESCAPED, MULTIPLE SCP-049-2 INSTANCES DETECTED!"
"ALL NON-COMBAT PERSONNEL EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"
"ALL COMBAT PERSONNEL REPORT TO CENTRAL GARDEN!"
"ALL D-CLASS ASSEMBLE FOR DEPLOYMENT!"
SCP-049? The Plague Doctor?
Of course it'd go berserk during a pandemic.
As a D-class, Luo Shu had no choice—he hurried to the garden.
The reading area was nearby, so he arrived first.
The rest of the D-class were still herded from their cells.
Nine-Tailed Fox arrived too—led by an acting commander (the bearded one was on mandatory leave after the last incident).
The new leader barked at Luo Shu:
"You! D-class! Front line! Move!"
Cannon fodder duty. Fantastic.
The Killing Floor
Descending to Basement Level 2, they found corpses everywhere—security, researchers, all butchered.
Further down the hall, SCP-049-2 instances shambled.
The MTF gunned them down without hesitation, nearly hitting Luo Shu.
Then—SCP-049 itself emerged.
The Plague Doctor, white beak mask gleaming, moved unnaturally fast.
The commander yelled: "Lavender smoke, now!"
Purple fog filled the hallway—but instead of calming, 049 grew more enraged.
"Liars! The world burns, and you cage its cure!"
It ripped open a trooper's hazmat suit—instant death on contact.
"Fall back! Regroup!"
The MTF vanished, leaving Luo Shu alone.
"Secure, Contain, Protect—my ass!"
He tried to run, but 049 blocked him.
Time for the Catalog.
Page 1: SCP-173's teleport.
He blinked behind 049—hands twitching toward its neck.
NO!
Touching 049 bare-handed was suicide.
Before he could flee, SCP-049-2s surrounded him.
Trapped between the doctor and its zombies, Luo Shu switched tactics.
Page 3: SCP-3329's persuasion.
"Stop! Let's talk!"
049 paused. "Talk? You, who chain salvation?"
Luo Shu pressed on. "The disease you see—it's not just physical. The Foundation hides the truth. They fear your cure."
049's masked head tilted. "Explain."
"The Pestilence isn't in bodies—it's in minds. Memetics. Anti-memes. They've infected humanity's thoughts."
A gamble, but 049 hated lies more than anything.
The doctor lowered its hands.
"Show me."
Luo Shu grinned.
Got you.